Hearts and Minds
by Cryztalline
Summary: Story with genderbent characters. Girl!Klaine through proper and adverse times. *Reviews are more than welcomed. ;)
1. Chapter 1: Morning Glory

Alarm clock ringed, sunshine started to come into her bedroom from the window. Just another day at the life of Kate Hummel had begun. As always, the hardest decisions came at the start, what to wear? Repeating an outfit more than once just said one of two things about yourself, either you were passing through a really hard time in your life where you didn't even cared about how other people saw your appearance or you were just a slob who recycled the same pair of jeans four times during the week. Not considering her self in either situation, Kate went with a pre-planned outfit, a gold-ish blouse with a mesh like texture that show enough cleavage to still look respectable while adding a flirty feel to it, a waist belt that looked both shiny yet classy, a black skirt with some gold and silver highlights and shiny flat shoes with a decorative buckle added to them looking both preppy yet posh.

She didn't want to waste to much time thinking on a special outfit for the days as today she wanted to get herself as pretty as possible since it was the first day after spring break and she hadn't seen any of her fellow McKinley students due to a family getaway her father Burt and her had so she wanted to satisfy both on the clothing and face department when she arrived. Satisfied with the outfit, specially considering how well it made her slim and delicate looking body look she went ahead and sited down at her vanity mirror and got all of the makeup ready. First of she applied enough powder to make her already light skin, who had earned her the nickname "Porcelain" with cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester, pearly in color just to keep it as fair and light as possible without it looking white and pasty. She then went ahead and applied some blush just to continue the rosy looks she was planning to achieve and finally went ahead to add enough rimmel on her eyelashes to make them stick out without looking ridiculous. Some eye shadow was added as well as a pearl color lipstick, one important rule about lipstick for Kate was to keep the lips a toned down color as bright colors as red just made people think you were a cheap, classless tramp.

Make-up was in place, clothes were perfect and the only thing missing was her hair. Kate had long brown locks that reach down to her waist. She had thought about cutting her long silky tresses to a shorter Aubrey Hepburn inspired hairstyle but couldn't bare going through it so she simply asked for the regular trim. Her hair made most other girls at McKinley jealous and her girlfriend, Blair Anderson, who had just transferred from Dalton Academy loved how it looked on her and, when Kate was in the mood of letting her, playing and styling it for her. Kate began brushing her long hair to get it ready, she could pass hours doing that but she only dared to brush her hair with her mother's brush. Having very vague memories of her mom since the day she passed away, she felt that by brushing her hair with her brush she was connecting with her in a way. Without noticing she had passed fifteen minutes brushing her hair and quickly braided it into a low braid that went over her left shoulder and putted on one of her shiny headbands to combine with her outfit. She was dressed up and fabulous, looking that way she felt like nothing could stop her. This was Kate's day and nothing could ruin it for her, or so she thought.


	2. Chapter 2: Flashes of Daylight

As she opened the door heads turned towards her some had amazed expressions theirs while others had a tint of jealousy in theirs, the outfit was a doing its job. As she walked her way down to her locker, Kate ran into former glee club rival, now aspirant roommate for NY, Raymond Berry.

"I thought you just wore shimmery outfits for Red Carpet season, as to my knowledge Joan Rivers won't be lurking the hallways of McKinley anytime soon." Raymond asked playfully as they continued their way to their respective lockers.

"Oh I know, if she did though, I would rather stand on a speedway than let you wear one of the awful sweaters you wore on freshman year, Ray. I can't believe it took you so long to finally swallow your pride and let me help you choose decent clothes." Kate replied with a smirk. "Still, I felt today was a special day, being our last spring break before graduation sort of made me want to leave a mark on this place, at least style wise."

Raymond couldn't help but grin at her remark. "Guess you have a point there, care to remind me why you aren't in charge of designing the costumes we use for competitions?"

"Mostly because we are on a tight budget, I assure you that if it was me giving the shots we wouldn't even have enough money to afford the bus to take us to the competition." Both finally arrived to their lockers and started getting their books ready for their classes to come. "Still thanks for noticing the outfit, having people notice makes the pre-planning worth it. You don't look bad yourself, I bet Fiona will love it."

"Don't want to sound like a total loser but I still can't believe we're finally what the public eye would consider a stable couple. Would it seem pathetic for me to ask if she mentioned me anytime during spring break?" Raymond asked nervously while trying to maintain his cool.

Kate giggled a bit before answering back. "Not pathetic, but maybe a bit clingy. As for her talking about you I don't know. Both her and Carole went to spend some mother and daughter time, we barely saw them during spring break. Still she's a human being in a normal relationship with who I believe is the most dramatic guy ever, I'm sure she missed your shenanigans as well as you at least at some point."

Relief filled his voice as he answered back. "I do hope so, well as always a pleasure sharing a talk with you, miss Hummel. See you on the break?"

"The pleasure was all mine mister Berry. I'll try to catch up with you on the break. Hopefully we can finally make a decision on audition songs for our NYADA audition." Kate said as she smiled and made her way to her first class of the day.

As she mad her way to her biology classroom, she noticed some familiar faces. There she saw Abby Abrahams, who had been one of the original glee club members but Kate never got to meet in a more personal level as she thought she should. She was a nice girl but for some reason neither of them hanged out much with each other, still both were on friendly terms with each other, Kate always felt she should get along with her more, but oh well. Next to her was Quentin Fabray, poor guy had been through so much this year, ever since Fiona picked Ray over him while at New York during last year at Nationals he had sort of a breakdown and his life seemed to go downhill from there, he shaved his head and went through a punk phase, lost his spot on the football team and most recently almost loosing his life on a horrible car crash but as of recently he's been able to walk again, as pitiful as his life sounds, Kate had nothing but respect for him, she couldn't imagine herself being able to take on all those problems and still being able to continue. Finally she saw Brett Pierce, probably one of the most dim-witted members of the football team but possible one of the nicest too. He used to date Abby but ever since their break-up he hooked up with Santiago Lopez, possibly one of the meanest member of the football team but as of lately he had toned down his attitude, quite ironic how opposites attracted.

"Hey Kate! I saved you a spot." Brett said joyously while showing Kate the empty seat.

Kate smiled and took the seat. "Thanks Brett, it's nice to see you again. How was spring break from your end?"

While thinking through it, Brett replied. "It wasn't really that exciting, I did spend a lot of time with Santiago during the break though. Oh while on one outing I think I saw that girl, the girl who took Blair's spot at the Songbirds when she transferred to McKinley, what was her name again?"

"Ugh, Sabrina Smythe? I hate her, wasn't she banned from further show quire competitions for blinding Blair?" Kate asked as she tried to not look altered by the remark.

"I'm not completely sure, still she's still roaming around. I would watch my back, no one bought that speech she said at Regionals, I still believe she's bitter over loosing and wouldn't doubt if she still has something up her sleeve." Brett said as he began taking out a pencil as the teacher arrived.

"Thanks for the heads-up Brett, I'll be on the look out, by the way how's the whole school president business going on?" She asked as she herself got out a pen.

"Meh, I thought it would be more exciting, I don't get how Obama and Daniel Day-Lewis could do it." He said in a clueless manner as he faced towards Kate.

"You know that Daniel Day-Lewis just played president Lincoln on that film right? Plus he isn't even American." Kate asked Brett as she faced him.

Brett himself looked amazed. "Oh that explains his weird accent at his acceptance speech at the Oscars! By the way, love the Emmy statue costume you're wearing."

Kate gave him a cold look. "Its not a cost…" Before she could finish her sentence Brett interrupted her.

"I'm sure Blair is lucky to have a trophy girlfriend. It's nice of you to remind her that even if your boobs aren't as big as the ones of the actual statue. Still you look really pretty." He said as he began taking notes.

Kate smiled and began taking notes herself. "Thanks Brett, it means a lot."


	3. Chapter 3: The Golden Hour

Time went by and so did the classes up until the break arrived. More than just a reason to have a free period, Kate loved the break as she got time to see each one of her friends, as some of them had classes at a different schedule than hers and she barely saw them outside of the glee club practices. Kate made her way to the cafeteria that was already looking full.

"Kate! Girl where had you been hiding? Hadn't seen a glimpse of you all day! And with that outfit you have on that's saying something!" A loud yet familiar voice said as Kate couldn't help but slime to spoke behind her.

"Marcus! Oh my gawd, I can't believe we haven't seen each other for all this time! By the way, have you lost some weight? It suits you!" Kate said to Marcus Jones, possibly one of her first and best friends ever since she entered McKinley and another of the original glee club members.

"I know right? It wasn't easy though, one is always tempted to splurge once in a while, still willpower and a ton of those tofu shakes you recommended me have come in handy" Marcus said with a proud tone as he smiled back to Kate.

"Well whatever the means are it sure is working. Not wanting to sound nosy but you know I am anyways, how has stuff been working out with Samantha? I mean from my end I can assure you she's crazy for you, still you got to make a decision, and if you ask me she's a better catch than Shania." She replied back as she remembered the whole love triangle mess that happened between Marcus, Shania Tinsley and Samantha Evans, one of McKinley's newest cheerleaders who joined the glee club last year, dropped out, became a part-time stripper to pay off to sustain her family and re-entered McKinley this year.

Marcus shrugged a bit. "I'm not sure though, I sort of cheated on Shania, and I know Sam is a great girl but cheating on someone does make you feel guilty. I don't want to make enemies with neither of them but I feel like if I went with one the other would despise me."

"Well if thinking that will let you sleep at night then do as you wish but I still think you and Samantha make a cute couple. Plus if we talk about cheaters we know Quentin did more cheating to Samantha with Fiona than one can count with their hands." Kate said as both of them went ahead to look for a table.

"You know what, let talk about something else, don't want my problems glooming this day out. Have you decided on a song for your NYADA audition? Judging from Ray's comments on the topic, you should really consider doing one of those show stopping musical numbers to blow them out of the water." Marcus said as they continued to walk their way through the cafeteria.

Kate's expression looked both insecure yet determined as she answered back. "I have some things in mind but I'm not completely sure yet, as you said it has to be something capable of blowing them away, I haven't really putted much thought into that specific aspect of the audition."

"Well I'm sure you'll do great regardless of your choice. Hey isn't that Ray over at that table?" Marcus asked, as they got closer to the aforementioned table.

"Yeah I believe so, he did told me we were going to discuss audition songs on the break, mind coming with me, I'll try not to bore you, pretty please?" Kate asked as she batted her eyelashes.

"How could I say no to that face. Let go, but make sure to go to the point, you know how Ray loves to get off topic when it comes to that sort of stuff." Marcus said, as they got closer to the table.

"Hey what took you guys so long? We've been waiting for you!" Raymond said as both Marcus and Kate took their respective seats on the table. "By the way, Fiona, Blair and Norah have been taking their time too."

"They must be in history, that teacher always takes more than the time given to dismiss his class." Tim Cohen-Chang, another of the original glee club members who people had a habit of interrupting while he performed a musical number, said.

"Yeah, that must be it. By the way kudos on helping May get that dancing scholarship. She spent all spring break asking me for school recommendations." Ray said as he took a bit of his vegan sandwich.

Tim couldn't help but smile. "Yeah I'm really happy for her but she deserved it, and the feeling of her father accepting her decision I believe is what made it all better."

As he finished his sentence, Fiona, Kate's stepsister and Raymond's girlfriend, entered the cafeteria along with Blair, Kate's girlfriend and one McKinley's new recruits. Fiona was wearing the typical Cheerio attire, the McKinley cheerleader uniform, flats and her brown hair tied up in a high ponytail. Blair on the other hand wore one of her trademark vintage looks, a navy blue and yellow blouse with a symmetric pattern, a black skirt with yellow highlights, stockings and what appeared to be black schoolgirl shoes. As much of an eyesore as Kate would consider that outfit on another person she approved it on Blair, not because she was her girlfriend but mostly because it suited her personality. Still she made a major change in her appearance, she still had her trademark hair bow but her normally unruly and curly black hair, which normally reached down to maybe a little bit below her shoulders, was as straight as Kate's and almost as long as hers. Kate always insisted that Blair should straighten her hair but Blair never did it as she though it wouldn't suit her, but to Kate's eyes she looked perfect.

"Holly mother of Bette Davis, Blair you look stunning! For a second I didn't recognize you, I was starting to think I wasn't dating the hottest girl at school anymore." Kate smiled at Blair with delight as she spoke.

"I'm glad you liked it Katy, it took forever to get like this, I think I burned my finger with the straightening iron more than twice. Glad to know it was worth it." Blair replied back as she smiled and took her seat next to Kate at the table.

"Ok love doves, leave some love for the rest, I hadn't seen my man since before spring break!" Fiona said as she smooched Raymond's lips.

"Oh come on, get a room!" Marcus said playfully as the rest of the people at the table laughed along. Then, everyone began talking to everyone as they ate their respective lunch.

"So tell me, what's with the new look? I always knew straight would suit you." Kate said as she turned to Blair's direction. "At least straight when it comes to your hair."

Blair couldn't help but laugh. "I know but I was always intimidated by your beautiful hair. I swear there's no other girl in Ohio with better hair than Kate Hummel, plus this is your last year before graduation, I wanted to make this last days the happiest for you as I can."

"Have I told you you're the best girlfriend anyone could ask for?" Kat said as she smiled toward Kate.

"Like a couple of hundred times, but that's something I'll never get tired of hearing." Blair said as she kissed Kate's forehead. "By the way, why of all days of the year did you decided to tie yours up today in a low side braid? Not that it looks bad but if I get to have fabulous hair I think you deserve to show of yours as well."

"Sorry, today I rushed through my morning ritual to arrive pretty for you. I'll let it loose later, just want to get past chemistry without messing my hair. Also speaking about rushing I need you opinion on song choices for my NYADA audition. I wanted something spontaneous but I think a show tune would work better." Kate asked Blair while she played with her side braid.

"Well your voice certainly suits both genres but I'll go with a show tune for this one. You should totally do one from The Sound of Music, those never fail." Blair said as she took a sip of her bottled water.

Kate remained thoughtful. "Maybe, still I think I'll have to go to Ray's to have another practice session. He's really been determined to make a great impression on the audition, but yeah you can't go wrong with The Sound of Music."

"Alright hope everything works out for you Katy, as for today though, I was asked by some friends from Dalton to go to a big fancy dinner planned to honor the Songbird's anniversary, I was allowed to take a date and would love it if you could come, yet there's something I doubt you'll be comfortable to hear…" Blair said as her expression turned nervous.

"And that would be…?" Kate asked as a mixture of anxiousness and worry filled her from the inside.

"Well Sabrina is the one organizing the event and she was the one to invite me. She sort of wants to make this a peace offering since the slushy incident, some months ago." Blair replied as she tried to sound as appealing as she could.

Kate tried to look as calm and relaxed as possible but judging from Blair's facial reaction she knew she wasn't hiding it well enough. "I would love to go with you but are you sure you want to go? Sabrina is kind of a bitch, one of the worst to be honest. How do you know she won't try to screw us over again?"

"That's something we'll have to risk, I don't want to drag you into this, specially if you don't want to come but I feel that ever since I left Dalton to come with you to McKinley I left pending business over there and this would be the perfect way to make closure at Dalton. I would go alone but knowing Sabrina's antics I would rather take you to keep me in all of my senses to make sure she doesn't make any kind of move." Blair said as she continued to drink her water. "Still if you would rather not come I could go with you and the rest of the group to the movies as Fiona was planning to do anyways, I heard that new Wizard of Oz film is the closest we'll have to Wicked anytime soon."

"No don't, I'll go with you, I understand you have pending business there and I would hate to anchor you from doing it. Plus what's the worst that could happen." Kate said as she smiled towards Blair's direction.

"Katy, have I told you you're the best girlfriend anyone could ask for?" Blair said as she smiled back to Kate.

"Enough times to make it count, yet it never gets boring." Kate said as she kissed Blair's coral colored lips. "By the way, are you using those flavored lip-sticks again?"

"I noticed your kisses lasted longer when I wore the melon one." Blair said as she gave Kate a naughty look.

"You sly fox, if your hair didn't look as fab as it does, I would start judging you for using a product aimed to 7 year old girls." Kate said as they both laughed.


	4. Chapter 4: Afternoon Delight

School was over, glee club practice done, this week the assignment was "Time" and Kate had already options for a song, she considered Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time" but after the slushy incident with Blair during their Michael Jackson assignment week, she thought Blair would only remember the assault rather than enjoying the song. She also considered Madonna's "Hung Up" which had time as a recurring theme but Kate opted no to use it as the lyrics might give people the wrong idea about her relationship with Blair, they were both happy and neither of them was "_fed up_" or "_tired of waiting_" on the other. As ridiculous as it might sound picking a proper song was a hard job. As she continued to brainstorm while looking for an acceptable outfit to wear to Blair's event at Dalton that evening Kate's cellphone rang, ringtone was No Doubt's "Hey Baby", she knew who was calling.

"Hey baby, what took you so long?" Kate replied as she picked up the phone and continued to rummage through her clothes.

"Don't take it the wrong way but don't you find having that ringtone and answering the song with the chorus line a bit lame?" Blair said from the other end of the phone in a playful manner.

"How could I take a pseudo insult like that the wrong way, by the way I know you have Katy Perry's "Hot n Cold" as my ringtone, care to explain that?" Kate said as she continued looking for something to wear.

"Don't be such a drama queen, you know that's my favorite song, plus Katy you know how I love that my favorite singer and my favorite girl share the same name." Blair said as Kate smiled from her end. "By the way, just wanted to give you a heads up before you crack your head thinking on something to wear for tonight's event, I'll take my old Dalton school uniform and I think you should do the same. Basically everyone there will wear theirs so why should we be any different?"

Kate thought about it. She hadn't worn her Dalton uniform since she transferred backed to McKinley last year. Ever since then she left the uniform pristine and unwrinkled on a corner of her closet with a plastic cover over it to prevent it from recollecting dust. She unhanged it and removed the plastic cover.

"Alright, thanks for letting me know. Do you think it will still fit? It's been a long time since I worn it." Kate asked as she saw the uniform lying in her bed.

"I'm sure it does, if anything you've lost weight since your first day at Dalton, also let your hair loose. The side braid you wore today at school looked sexy and all but I was thinking that since I was keeping my hair straight for the remaining of the day we should take advantage of it and make heads turn our way and amaze them with out hair, specially with yours. Back at Dalton I knew of at least one or two girls who were extremely jealous of your hair." Blair said as Kate sat on her vanity.

"Alright will do. Do you want me to pick you up at your house, B?" Kate said as she began to unbraid her hair while holding on to the cellphone with her shoulder.

"Don't worry about that, I'll pick you up. I know you take your time to get yourself ready, and as much as I love seeing you look pretty I also want to arrive on time, I'll pick you up at seven."

Kate looked at her clock, it marked 5:39. "Less than two hours? Ugh, you're the worst. If I'm the laughing stock at that party it will be in your conscience." Kate said as she finished unbraiding her hair.

"I'll take the risk, besides you are Kate Hummel, I bet even Carrie Bradshaw would be jealous of your sense of style. Okay, don't want to steal more valuable time from you. Can't wait to see you, talk to you later Katy. Love you!" Blair said as the clock marked 5:41.

"Love you too, honey. Talk to you later!" As the call ended Kate took of her blouse and skirt that had earned her comparison to that of an award statue the whole day and quickly looked for the best push-up bra, Kate knew the wasn't extremely blessed on the rack department but she wasn't Keira Knightley either. She then went ahead and putted on her Dalton Academy uniform. Blair was right it still fitted and even the skirt, which she struggled with the first times she wore it, fitted perfectly. She then went ahead and looked at her reflection in the mirror, flashbacks of her days at Dalton came back to her, meeting Blair, glee practice with the Songbirds even loosing Regionals. As much as she wanted to go with Blair she wasn't sure about it, she was part of the school once but was she really considered part of the whole Dalton community? At least Blair was a prominent member of the Songbirds; Kate didn't even get an important solo during her whole stay at Dalton. Before putting much thinking into it, Kate turned at the clock, it marked 6:03, if she was going to look presentable she needed to stop wasting so much time and get herself ready. She them took off her outfit left it lying on her bed and went ahead to take a shower.

Some minutes later as she finished, Kate got her outfit on again. She revised every little detail and until satisfied she went ahead to sit on her vanity. She took a brief look at the clock just to have an idea of how much time she had left to get her hair ready, the clock marked 6:38, she still had time but not too much. When she turned back to her vanity she froze at the sound she wanted to hear the least at that specific moment.

"Kate! Blair's car just arrived, should I tell her to come in?" Kate's dad, Burt, asked as she began to look for her hairbrush.

"Let her in, tell her I'll be down there in a minute!" Kate said as she began to brush her hair aggressively just to finish as quickly as she could. "I can't believe she arrived earlier, I hate when people do that!" She thought to herself as she finished brushing and grabbed a salmon colored lipstick.

Rushing her way through the stairs Kate arrived at her living room where Blair was waiting while Burt and her talked. "Look who finally arrived, Kate you got to hurry up, it's not polite to keep a girl waiting." Burt said as Blair giggled.

"Don't worry mister Hummel, as we can both see everything was worth the wait, Kate looks stunning!" Blair said as Burt took another look at Kate.

"You got that right missy, but looking gorgeous isn't something my daughter has a hard time doing." Burt said as Kate blushed. "It's been a long time since I saw you on that uniform Kate, it sure brings back memories."

"Oh come on daddy, its not like its prom night or something. We have to hurry now. I'll try to be back as soon as possible. If Fiona asks, I borrowed some of her blush. Tell her it was a mistake though, she'll hate me if she knows I got into her room." Kate said as both girls began exiting the door.

"Sure thing, sweetie. You girls take care, and if by any chance one of you drinks, make sure the sober one drives the car back." Burt said as Kate got into Blair's car.

"Sure dad, see you later!" Kate replied as Blair turned on the car and both waved good-bye.

The car began moving and both girls were on their way to Dalton. "Don't want to sound like a broken record but I'm quite nervous Blair, I mean I began thinking and I wasn't even a prominent part of Dalton's history, I think showing up with the uniform will just paint a giant target on myself."

"Don't say that, while you were there most people liked you, as a matter of fact I don't remember anyone who didn't, well apart from Sabrina but we'll ignore her during the whole event." Blair said as she continued driving.

"I know, it's just that, I don't know. As much as I loved my stay at Dalton it was a pretty dark moment of my life. I don't know if I'll be able to handle going back." Kate said as she began twisting a strand of her hair, something she did when she got nervous.

"Alright stop right there, first of all don't let all the nerves ruin your hair. Second, as anything happens over there that makes you feel uncomfortable we'll leave. I don't want to make you stay over there if you don't want to. Finally, if someone does something to you, they will have to deal with me." Blair said as they both continued there way though the highway.

"I appreciate the gesture, Blair, but I don't want to ruin this night for you. It is your night after all." Kate said as she let go of her hair.

"Oh stop it, you. Ever since we became a couple there are no more "my" or "your" nights, from then on they become "our" nights, either you like it or not". Blair said as both girls saw from afar the building where Dalton Academy resided. "Alright, we are almost there, as soon as we arrive there get rid of your pessimistic thoughts and enjoy yourself, you deserve this as much as anyone there does."

"Alright, but just because you said it nicely." Kate said as she began to loosen up.

As soon as the car got parked, both girls got out of the vehicle and made their way to the building. "As soon as you enter just keep your cool and continue being the most fabulous girl in the world, don't let anything or anyone take that away from you." Blair said as she kissed Kate's cheek.

"I'll try, just if you promise that you'll continue being the best girlfriend anyone could ask for." Kate said as they both made their way into the building.

"You got yourself a deal!" Blair replied as they entered the room. As soon as they got inside they both got wowed buy the decoration. It looked as fancy as how it looked when they both assisted Dalton but it had a Victorian feel to it.

As both girls found a table, one of the students at Dalton got behind the main podium to give a welcome speech. "Welcome Dalton student body, I'm proud to announce that the school is celebrating one of its most important trademark's today, and to give you a little taste of why we celebrate them, here are our very own Songbirds!"

The lights all turned out to a group of girls, all in uniforms. As soon as they got the limelight the sound of Rihanna's "Cheers (Drink to That)" began to fill the room as the Songbirds took the stage.

"Oh I love that song! I got to admit, even while not being part of them, I still feel proud of being a former Songbird!" Blair said to Kate as the Songbirds continued to sing.

"I was about to say the same thing but look who got the lead vocals." Kate said as Sabrina Smythe began to take the lead of the song.

"Hey take the song's advice and "don't let the bastards bring you down", who cares if she got the lead vocals, as long as she doesn't bother us I'm fine with her getting the spotlight". Blair said as she continued to enjoy the song.

"You're right, as long as I'm with you nothing really matters." Kate said as she kissed Blair's cheek.


	5. Chapter 5: Dawn at Dalton

As soon as the performance ended, the whole room got filled with the sound of applause. The Songbirds had yet again received a standing ovation; one without knowledge about the competitions would be bewildered of knowing they had yet again lost their chance to go to Nationals, being part of the winning team for once was something Kate wished no one knew.

"What a spectacular performance! Now to commemorate the opening of our new Hall of Fame containing all of the students who have made Dalton such an important and well known institution I would like to hand the podium to our new head Songbird, Sabrina Smythe." The whole room got filled with applause as Sabrina took on the stage.

"Thank you Dalton faculty for giving me the honor to inaugurate this amazing room filled with the achievements fulfilled by the amazing students that have graced Dalton with their presence and talent through the years, and I solemnly swear to lead this new generation of Songbirds to achieve the greatness other students at Dalton have fulfilled in the past to keep the name of Dalton up high!" For the third time in a row, the whole auditorium got filled with nothing but cheers and applause.

"I almost forgot people here applauded a lot, not that I'm against a standing ovation but I don't support anything that helps inflate Sabrina's already huge ego" Kate whispered to Blair as both of them looked at the podium.

As soon as the applauses finished, Sabrina along with two other Dalton Academy students walked their way to an opened door at the end of the room that had its entrance obstructed by a big red ribbon. "It's now our pleasure to announce that the Dalton Academy Hall of Fame will be now opened for the public to appreciate all of the amazing achievements fulfilled by our vastly talented student body through the years!" Said one of the two Dalton students who accompanied Sabrina, who then went ahead to take out a pair of scissors and cut the ribbon symbolizing the inauguration.

As many students made their way to contemplate the room, Blair and Kate remained seated. "Should we go see inside? I mean there's a chance we could be featured at one of the pictures there." Blair told Kate as she stood up.

"Sure why not, wouldn't mind seeing all of the fancy decorations in the room while we are there." Kate answered back as she followed Blair.

Both girls entered the Hall of Fame and much to their amusement they saw how spacious but full the room looked. Pictures of competitions, past uniforms, plaques with names, different sport balls, paintings and sculptures all of important historical value for the school were at display on the room. Both girls went ahead and took a look at the section dedicated to the Songbirds, pictures showing the different generations were at display and much to their surprise last years picture contained both of them.

"From the look on your faces I can assume you are enjoying the exposition, right?" A familiar voice from behind them said as both of them turned around, it was no other than Sabrina Smythe, her body figure still as similar as that of a wasp, her cold blue eyes as menacing as ever and her long chestnut hair still in what Kat believed looked like a shameless copy of hers. "It's nice to have both of you here, how has life as future national contenders been treating Blair and Kara?"

Kate gave Sabrina her not impressed look, noticing her obvious name mistake to spite her. "It's Kate, and to be honest with you it's not bad at all. Winning once in a while is something that always lifts the spirit, not that you would know the feeling anyways."

"You're right, Dalton hasn't gone to Nationals in a while, still something us at the Songbirds know is that no matter how much times we remain at second best there's always a next year. It was nice seeing both of you, and by the way I find amusing how bad that horrible sense of humor of yours continues to develop, Kandy. But still if Blair can stand it who am I to find amusement out of it." Sabrina said with a smirk as she walked away.

"Well its good to know everything remains the same here at Dalton, room decorations is still amazing, the uniform's still the same and Sabrina is still a bitter bitch." Blair told Kate as both of them walked out of the room.

As both girls made their way out of the room Kate bumped into one of the many Dalton girls who accidentally dropped some of her champing on her skirt. "Ugh, this is just perfect, first we run into faux Elle Driver and now this. Would you mind me going to the rest room to prevent this from expanding?" Kate told Blair as she tried to prevent the stain from growing.

"Not at all Katy, by the way don't know about you but this place is starting to get old pretty quickly, would it bother you if we leave after you're finished?" Blair asked Kate as she accompanied her girlfriend to the door of the restroom.

"I thought you'd never ask." Kate replied back.

Blair smiled at Kate. "I'll go get the car ready. I'll be back in a second."

Kate entered the rest room and got some paper towels to prevent the stain from expanding, the bathroom looked as fancy as always filled with the elegant dark cyan colored tiles along with some aquamarine and navy blue ones. Kate began looking at herself in the mirror, she still couldn't get used to herself with the Dalton uniform on. As soon as the stain dried up, the bathroom's door opened, Sabrina entered the bathroom.

"Well, look what we have here, don't you ever get tired of just obstructing the way of others?" She said as she turned to Kate's reflection in the mirror.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing. By the way love what they did with the bathroom. Was going to ask you if you had something to do with the decorations, but then I remembered your bad taste in… everything." Kate told Sabrina with a smug smile on her face.

"I would watch my mouth if I were you, you were aware that the slushy that blinded Blair was aimed at you, right?" Sabrina told Kate as she got her hand in her jacket's pocket.

"I do, thanks for reminding me. You know that if I wanted I could totally go to the Dalton authorities to have you banned from the school or at the very least suspended?" Kate told Sabrina as she continued to face the mirror.

"I'm aware of that, just as you'll be aware of what's to come." As soon as Sabrina finished her sentence, she grabbed a chunk of Kate's luscious hair and pulled it. She then took her hand out of her pocket, which revealed the scissors she used to cut the ribbon at the inauguration of the Hall of Fame room. Without hesitation Sabrina went ahead and cut a large chunk of Kate's hair. "Now look and the bright side, you could donate that. I'm pretty sure they will look past the bad quality and might accept it." Sabrina said as she left the bathroom.

Kate stood in shock as she saw the long stand of hair, her hair that she had taken care, bushed and pampered for almost all of her life, lying on the floor. She then when ahead and placed her hand on the cut section of her head, her once waist length hair remained at a miserable shoulder length at the most, the damage done was to big to looks past, there was no way she could hide it. With nothing but blurry thoughts, Kate fell to the tilled floor of the bathroom and cried, the tears smearing the makeup she had had taken so much time to apply to look presentable. She was lying broken on the floor and that's when she knew Sabrina Smythe proved her wrong, she had won.


	6. Chapter 6: Umbral Dusk

Despair, agony, anger and other multiple emotions filled Kate's mind as tears continued to cascade down her face. She knew she looked awful and she couldn't bear show her face in public, at least not looking like this. The shock of the assault still kept her legs frozen and she couldn't even stand up, she felt useless and pathetic.

As she continued to lie next to her shorn hair and small puddle of tears mixed with smeared rimmel, Kate heard the door open slowly. "Katy, you've taken way to long, is everything alri-…" Blair couldn't finish her question just as she couldn't help her jaw from dropping as she saw the scene in front of her, her girlfriend lying helplessly on the bathroom's floor combined with her ruined makeup and what appeared to be a huge chunk of her hair laying next to her made for one of the most horrifying scenarios she could possible imagine. "Oh my lord, what the hell happened here? Is everything all right? Were you hurt?" Blair bombarded Kate with questions as she went over to her to assist her.

"Does anything look all right to you? I'm a mess; I knew coming here was not a good idea. That bitch Sabrina hacked off my hair while I was washing my face. I feel so stupid and ugly and…" Kate got interrupted as one of Blair's fingers rested itself at the middle of her lips.

As Blair took a look at her girlfriend she took a deep breath before replying back. "I know asking something obvious like "Are you okay" in a situation like this is redundant but you need to control yourself, by reacting like this you are making Sabrina win. Last thing we need it letting her know she beat you, and stop talking nonsense, even is that cunt had shaved your head you'd still be as beautiful as ever, don't let something like this take control of yourself, you are a strong and intelligent girl either with or without me you would have come with a way to get out of this and overcome anything that was thrown at you."

"You don't understand, its not just the hair, it's the whole meaning behind it. As crazy as it might sound, growing my hair long was one of the few ways I could feel connected both myself and my father to her, dad always told me I looked exactly like her, that's the whole reason as to why I've never dare cut it above my chest." Kate said as she took Blair's hand to get back up on her feet.

"You think that your hair was the only way to keep the memory of your mother alive? Katy, of all those times you have kept me waiting for you to get ready for our dinner outings or double dates with Fiona and Ray, Burt has told me once or twice that everyday you remind him more and more of your mother, let it be by your mannerism, your good taste in clothes or your kind spirit. Not once has he ever referenced your appearance when we talk about that. As hard as it might sound you got to let go of the image of you looking like your mom since I believe both you and your dad have more than just appearance to remind each other of her. You need to get both your heart and mind synchronized and have them remember that you are your own person, just as your mom was her ow-…" This time it was Blair who got interrupted as both hers and Kate's lips locked in a warm and passionate kiss.

"I don't know where I would be without you." Kate told Blair as she wrapped her hands around her waist. "The only problem I can think of right now is how to get out of here without making a fool of myself by letting half of Dalton's student body and most importantly, my dad, when they look at this."

"I think I got an idea. Can you still do that Barbara Walters impersonation you did to fool the people at the movie theater into thinking you were half British so we could get a discount went we went to see that last movie with Helen Mirren?" Blair asked Kate as she began to untie her red scarf and tie it around Kate's hair to hide the cut section.

"Which one, Hitchcock? Oh my gawd, that move was amazing! I can't believe you almost fell asleep halfway through!" Kate told Blair as she began to inspect her tied hair on the scarf.

"Yeah well here's the plan. Take my cellphone and walk as fast as you can out of the Dalton building and go to the payphone that's just right next to the parking lot." Blair told Kate as she helped her take off the smeared makeup out of her face. "Then, you look for Sabrina's cellphone, call her from the payphone and distract her for about five minutes, where did she hid the scissors before cutting your hair?"

"I saw her taking them out of one of the pockets of her Dalton jacket." Kate told Blair as she herself rubbed the smeared makeup out of her face.

"Alright, then I think we are ready to go then. You just try to come up with something believable to keep her on the phone for a little while, or at least enough for me to take the scissors out of her pocket." Blair said to Kate as she helped her dry her face with paper towels.

"Please don't tell me you are going to hack her hair off? I'm always up for a little revenge but don't want to fall to her level, specially if it might get you in trouble." Kate answered back as she took Blair's cellphone.

"I considered it but as you said we are way above her and we won't lower ourselves to her level just to make a point, we are smarter than that." Blair then went and grabbed the cut hair that was lying at the floor. "Shall we do something with this? It would be a shame to just throw it away."

Kate shrugged as she saw what once was a piece of her. "Don't worry, it's not worth crying for anymore. I would have kept it if at least it was tied up in a ponytail but at that state it would just leave a mess behind."

Blair sighted as she threw the hair to one of the bathroom's trashcans. "Alright, so you know the plan. Once I get the scissors I'll get out of the building and meet you in front of my car."

"You got a deal. Just be careful, don't want Sabrina the Teenage Bitch getting you into trouble." Kate told Blair as she made her way to the bathroom door.

"Don't worry about me, just stick to the plan and we'll be out of here in no time." Blair kissed Kate's forehead and disappeared among the crowd of Dalton students.

Kate went ahead and did her part of the plan. As she rushed through the mass of students that filled the room she also made sure the scarf holding her hair didn't loosen up. As she walked pass some of the last students she was finally able to reach the exit. It was a lot easier than what she expected but the plan was still not over, she ran as fast as she could to the nearest exit from the Dalton building she could find and as she did she was surprised it wasn't the on that led to the parking lot. Instead she got out into the tennis courts, which was at least a hundred and eighty degrees from the parking lot. Kate knew she had no time to loose and ran as fast as she could to finally reach the parking lot.

Meanwhile inside the building, Blair finally found Sabrina's location. She was talking to a bunch of students near her. Blair just waited to see her pickup the phone to make sure when to strike a move.

While outside, Kate finally reached the parking lot. While tired and sweaty, Kate searched for the payphone Blair told her about. The view wasn't helping, as everything seemed a different shade of indigo due to the early night sky above combined with the glimmer of the moon. While still looking for anything that seemed like a phone Kate was able to find Blair's car. She used it as a checkpoint while looking for the phone.

Inside Dalton, Blair was still roaming Sabrina's area. There was still no sign of Kate doing the call. What could be taking her so long? She just hoped for her to be all right, deep inside she feel guilt over the whole situation that led to that plan. If she hadn't left Kate alone Sabrina wouldn't have sliced her beautiful hair. "Hi stranger, I noticed you pass by a couple of times without that Kate Middleton knockoff near you."

Blair tried to keep her calm expression as she faked comfort near Sabrina. "Well we got to give each other space once in a while, that's one of the parts of being in a relationship."

"I still don't get how you decided to be in a relationship with someone like her to the point of transferring to that horrid public high school." Sabrina replied back to Blair as she drank slip of her drink.

"Well, love makes you do some crazy stuff, still no matter how bad you see her, she isn't that bad at all." Blair told Sabrina as she continued to fake comfort.

"I guess I'll never be able to understand you Blair Anderson, still I have mad respect for you, and that incident with the slushy wasn't intentional, by the way." Sabrina answered back as she walked away slowly.


	7. Chapter 7: The End of the Day

She couldn't believe how much time it was taking her to find the stupid telephone. Her night vision wasn't bad but the shock of getting her hair hacked off along with the rush from doing this as fast as possible and the fact that she ran from one extreme of Dalton to the parking lot made Kate's head fill a bit fuzzy and concentrating was not as easy as one might imagine. She had taken to long already, maybe she should go back and tell Blair to forget it and leave. There could be a hair salon somewhere that could fix her hair, even if it was already pretty late. As she was about to turn back she bumped with the famous telephone, was she really that tired that she didn't notice it was just some footsteps behind her? Whatever, she had no time to waste she took out Blair's phone and looked up Sabrina's cellphone number. She then added a quarter to the slot and dialed as she cleared her throat.

"Hello? Is this Sabrina Smythe, lead vocalist of Dalton's Songbirds?" Kate said on her best Barbara Walter's impersonation as she tried her best to keep up the charade long enough to gain time for Blair to make her move.

At the auditorium were all Dalton students were still roaming without looking tired, Sabrina replied back at the mysterious caller. "Yes, this is her, may I ask who is this? Your voice sounds oddly familiar yet I can't figure out who it belongs to."

"Of course dear, its none other than Barbara Walters. Due to the hype on the whole show quire business I though it would be wise to start digging some information for myself and my advisors recommended me to contact one of America's longest running show quire competitors of the last decade. One does not become the most prominent and well known journalists on America just by letting the hot trends pass by." Kate continued talking her way into Sabrina until making more time.

"Sure but my I ask, how did you get my phone number? Why not call the school instead? Believe me if this is a prank call I'll have the police involved!" Sabrina threatened, as she couldn't believe her ears.

"Dear, I figured you would know better than threatened one of the biggest names of America's television. Still if you are not interested I could always go with that other show quire group. What was their name? Oh right, Vocal Adrenaline! I've heard they've won more competitions anyways." Kate replied back without trying to give out nervousness in her voice as she continued the conversation.

Sabrina started to give in. "No wait! I mean one is never to sure, I just don't want to be the next Sarah Palin and fall into a fake phone conversation that would make a fool of myself in the public, it was not my intention to ruin my schools chances at exposure!"

Blair noticed Sabrina talking on the cellphone it must have been Kate. She then rushed pass her and while mixing into the crowd tried her best to take a hold of the scissors, which she saw a glimmer of.

"Sorry dear, but in this business you need to know how to talk to your superiors. The lack of respect on your voice just makes me think that if this is the best Dalton has to offer then I would rather just take my chances with another school." Kate continued as she saw three minutes had passed.

"I'm so sorry, it was not my intention to come off as rude, and it's just that one never knows. These types of opportunities happen once in a life time!" Sabrina continued to talk and she seemed nervous, breaking her in a way was making Kate feel like if she was unintentionally having her payback at her.

"You're right dear, this type of opportunities just happen once in a lifetime and you just flushed yours down the drain. I would like to say this was a pleasure but sadly it wasn't." Kate said as she hanged up the phone.

As Blair rushed her way pass the crowd of students with the scissors in hand she could her Sabrina make a horrible screech. Whatever Kate told to her in the phone really did a number on her. As she got out of the Dalton building she ran into Kate and embraced her. "Thanks a lot for making time for me to get out, was getting worried something happened to you."

"Oh please, I'm not made of china. Plus it was pretty fun pretending to be Barbara Walters, who knew it would be so easy." Kate said as she looked at Blair. "Were you able to get the scissors?"

Blair took them out of her pocket and showed them to Kate. "Did you ever doubt I would? Now get in the car, we got to get out of here before anything else happens!"

Both girls got into Blair's car and as the motor got running both were driving their way out of the shadow of the night that filled the parking lot of Dalton Academy. As they were on the highway, Kate felt the need to make a little intervention. "Could we make a stop somewhere near the cabins close to Winona Lake?" Kate asked Blair as she looked briefly at her.

"Sure Katy, but my I ask why?" Blair answered back as she had a bewildered look on her face. She knew Kate and her father had a cabin they rented near Winona Lake but she had never been there.

"It's a surprise. Just trust me, you'll love it." Kate replied back as a soft smile filled her face.

While taking a turn to the cabin area near Winona Lake, both girls arrived at the front of the Hummel cabin. Kate took out her keychain in which she had the key to the cabin, which she used to open the door and both of them entered the small log cabin.

"Alright, hand me the scissors and wait her, I need to fix this before showing you the little surprise." Kate told Blair as she took the scissors from her girlfriend's hands and made her way to the bathroom inside the cabin.

"Are you sure you don't need help? I don't know much but if you tell me where to cut it I'll be more than glad to give you a helping hand." Blair told Kate as Kate closed the bathroom door.

"Don't worry, I've had so much experience over the years I don't need much help with this anymore. Don't tell anyone but Fiona stopped going to a salon once she discovered the stylist material she had for a stepsister once Carole and my dad got married." Kate voiced said from the bathroom. The sound of the scissors cutting the hair made Blair nervous, not that she didn't trust Kate with her own hair but having her girlfriend without her beautiful head of hair anymore was going to take some getting use to.

Minutes turned into hours, Blair's cellphone marked 10:33 already. They couldn't take much longer as she didn't want to get Kate nor herself in trouble with Burt for taking so long. As she continued worried the bathroom door finally opened, no wonder she had taken so long, along with the haircut, Kate took a quick shower to get rid of all of the spare hair and at the same time took time to dry herself and get presentable again. Plus sleeping during a couple of minutes might have also contributed to the whole thing taking so long on Blair's part. As soon as she took a clear view of her girlfriend Blair could do nothing but smile, she looked gorgeous, her hair was barely below her shoulders and it looked amazing on her. "You look so beautiful! The new haircut makes you look like Geri Halliwell circa Olympic Games 2012 Closing Ceremony! How could you do it so fast in such a short time?" Blair asked amazed as she saw her girlfriend look prettier than ever.

"I have an emergency beauty kit in the bathroom cabinet. Sorry for taking so long but I wanted to work this out the best I could and look as good as it was possible considering the conditions." Kate said as she walked closer to Blair.

As she looked at the bathroom Blair caught a glimpse of the floor where the rest of Kate's hair laid. "I'm sure going to miss your beautiful hair, but I'm already loving the new hairdo I think I'll get used to it quite fast!"

"You won't need to do it, I'm planning on letting it grow again. I like how it turned out but I'll miss playing with my hair so much when I got bored. Still I'm glad you liked it. Now come with me outside, I owe you something." Both girls went outside to the forest and stopped in front of a tree with many carving on it. "You see this tree. Tradition tells that whoever carves their name and their loves name in it will have a long happy life together. I don't believe in that superstitious nonsense but dad and mom both did it and they had a pretty happy relationship, at least while it lasted. I always wanted to have my name with the right person carved into the tree since I was a kid. I think the moment has finally arrived."

Before passing the carving knife to Blair, Kate was stopped by one long kiss coming from Blair. A passionate kiss below the tree of romance she always cherished as a child with the person she loved. What more could she ask for? The only thing she knew was that both her heart and her mind belonged to Blair and no one else.


End file.
